


The Unexpected Visitor

by abnormallllll (abnels)



Category: Homestuck
Genre: AU, Alternia, Damsel in Distress, F/M, Jadekat - Freeform, Post-Game(s), kats & dogs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-01-18
Updated: 2013-06-04
Packaged: 2017-11-25 22:24:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/643590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/abnels/pseuds/abnormallllll
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jade is busy gardening when she approached by an unexpected visitor.</p>
<p>A visitor who wants to kill her.</p>
<p>(Post-game AU)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Unexpected Visitor

It’s a sunny day out, with clear blue skies, a color somewhat between Jane & John’s blue eyes. It’s warm, with a mild breeze, much like it was on your island; although it’s significantly less humid. That was a major factor in your choosing this to be the place where you would live. It’s the perfect gardening climate, and for this same reason, you are kneeling in the black-brown earth.

Your arms are stained with dirt, as you’ve been crouched over digging all day. Which, truth be told, you have been. Your deep blue dress fans around you, hiding your rough, muddy knees. Long black hair tosses about your shoulders in the breeze and you are constantly catching it and tucking it back behind your ear. Your human ears, that is. Your fluffy white dog ears-the only vestige of your beloved Becquerel-are uncomfortable with hair tucked behind them. Right now they are flicking lazily atop your head, picking up the whir of the rushing breeze and the scrunch of your hands in the dirt.

Fingers pull apart the thick, sturdy leaves of the vegetables you have been cultivating. Vibrant lime green eyes pick out any and every blemish on the waxy stems with practiced ease.

Next to you sits a woven wooden basket, which is currently filled with carrots, beans, and small red tomatoes. Satisfied with the amount you have gathered, you sit back a bit and smile up at the sky, with eyes closed; and you inhale through your nose. The air smells sweet, with a hint of pollen, and post-rain aromas. It reminds you of old times, and you lie down and let the nostalgia wash over you. Damn your narcolepsy.

You dream of old times, playing Catch-The-Bullet with Bec. He is being a Good Dog, Best Friend, and he is not randomly teleporting you to inconvenient places. You hate it when he does that, even though you know he’s just looking out for you. The green grass sways in the breeze and you are truly content. It smells just like it did in your garden, except there is also a metallic scent woven into the air.

Wait.

Metallic?

Your eyes snap open behind your round glasses as a shadow passes over you, and you spin quickly and leap to your feet in a clumsy motion, tipping the basket of vegetables. You don’t even spare them a glance, though, because in front of you stands the greatest danger to your well-being since you moved here.

Ten feet tall, dressed in hulking black metallic armor, face shrouded except for two bright red, evil eyes that glare down at you malevolently-this is an Imperial Drone.  
“ _Fuck!_ ” you hear yourself whisper.

Your hands immediately fly up to your dog ears, seeking to hide your abnormality and be somehow spared from culling. It’s useless and you know it, because the drone lets out a rough, angry grunt, and reaches its well-muscled right arm across to its left side.  
You are running out of time. The seconds slip by slowly, dramatically, and you could relish their passing if you had enough space in your head to do so. Your eyes dart any and every direction, searching for something to protect you, as you are currently unarmed. Any escape is one you will readily welcome. But none come to you.

The drone pulls out a cruel, silver sword with a spiraled black guard. It steps towards you, raising an arm, and your whole body tenses like a coiled spring.

Your name is Karkat Vantas. You pour a mug of steaming black coffee-fuck that cream and sugar shit-and turn to carry it to your table. Halfway there, the mug falls to the ground with a smash, and shatters into a hundred slivers of baby blue porcelain, bathed in dark brown liquid. You make no effort to stop the cup’s descent, however, because you are already out the door.

A scream-high, shrill, and reality-shattering, is the only thing that you hear. There is only one person who could be making that noise, and that person is Jade Harley.


	2. Blades

The sight that you’re greeted with makes you bare your teeth in uncontained rage.

The black Imperial Drone is holding Jade up by her long, soft black hair, grunting out an interrogation in its own garbled language. Of course she doesn’t understand. _You_ can barely understand. Not that it matters whether or not its words make sense to her, because blood drips from her torso and she’s clearly unconscious. 

Your hand tightens around your sickles at the sight of the red on the bright blue of her dress. You know your first priority should be to get Jade the hell out of there. But it takes all you have not to charge into the attack and slice the shit out of that motherfucking monster. You are fairly certain that Jade would be hurt even more, or even killed in the process if you were to do that. So you don’t. Instead, you opt for stealth. 

You slink around to the Drone’s blind spot. Slowly creeping, watching your black shoes pad on top of green grass, almost… Lime green. But now’s not the time to think about that, shitstick, you berate yourself. There’s a life on the line and shit to get done. When you reach your destination, you still your movements. Your breathing quiets. You hear the breeze whisper through the grass. You hear Jade's breathing, shallow but steady. You tune out the Drone's warbled tone. You’re within range. Now, wait for the moment to stri-

But when the drone begins to shake Jade’s limp form like a ragdoll, waiting is not something that you’re about to fucking do.

You spring forward, slicing your scythe through the air in an upward arc. The razorlike blade slides right through the monstrous arm that is attached to Jade. The cordlike forearm falls, black blood spraying everywhere. It splatters all over Jade, who is now crumpled on the ground at the Drone, which is making animal sounds and stumbling back in blind fury and pain. Someone as soft as her belongs nowhere near the feet of a two-ton monster.

“Fuck, Harley. I thought you were getting over this sleeping thing!” you hiss, scooping her up and dodging out of the way as the drone's other arm swept through the air, the sword leaving a deep brown gash in the earth where Jade’s head had just been. You crash over to the wall of her hive-no, house-thing, and lean her against it, as carefully as you can manage, considering how hot the shit you’re handling right now is. Which is to say, hotter than the surface of the fucking Green Sun.

Shut the fuck up, Karkat.

A shadow crosses the wall and you spin to catch the approaching blade in the crook of your own weapon. It’s a close call. Just who the fuck does this thing think it is anyway? you wonder. So you decide to ask.

“JUST WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, ANYWAYS? I’VE SEEN HIVE-COOKED MEALS MORE INTIMIDATING THAN YOU, YOU FESTERING PILE OF SHIT!”

The Drone just groans in rage and continues to harass you with its sword. He tries to drive you left and right with heavy swings, trying to push you to either side so he can finish off Jade. 

“HEY NOOKWHIFFER. I ASKED YOU A FUCKING QUESTION, AND I EXPECT IT TO BE GOGDAMN WELL ANSWERED. I KNOW IT’S INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT FOR YOUR SHRIVELED UP THINK PAN TO PROCESS THAT INFORMATION INTO AN ANSWER.” You duck under a particularly nasty swipe, spinning beneath the twisted guard, and you shove your shoulder up into its arm to knock it off balance. It steps back, shrieking in response to losing ground. “DO YOU KNOW WHO THAT IS? THAT’S JADE MOTHERGRUBFUCKING HARLEY. YOU DON’T TOUCH HER. DO YOU HAVE A DEATH WISH, YOU GARGANTUAN DOUCHEBAG? BECAUSE YOU HURT HARLEY, AND I’M ABOUT TO GRANT IT.”

The drone has brute strength and stamina on its side, but you outmatch it in skill and speed. You’re a whirlwind of pain and pin-point accuracy. You make deliberate slashes across its chest, bobbing between arms and weaving out of the way of giant trunk-like legs. More black inky substance spills to the ground. Is it blood? Fuck if you know.

And then you’re clenching your teeth and hissing in pain because shit it actually landed a hit. You stumble back and trip over a watering can (come on, Harley, was that really a good place for a fucking plant?) and land on your side, bright red blood seeping from a cut on your upper left arm. It’s not so deep that you’re gonna roll over and die like a piece of shit. You drop the scythe in your left hand and slowly pull yourself to your knees.

You look up to gain your bearings and you find yourself staring straight into a pair of bright lime green eyes, shimmering with pain and confusion. And, as a shadow crosses over them, they leave your face. But you can still read the fear in them.

The drone charges at Jade.

“Oh, FUCK no,” you hiss.

She screams.

You lunge forward through the air.

The drone’s head falls to the ground, soaking the grass in pitch black.   
“Don’t you motherfucking think about it.” The body tumbles forward and slumps against the wall, dead at last.

“Kar…kat?” Jade whispers, looking up at you. Her eyes look dull now, almost glazed. You stoop down in front of her and locate the gaping slash that runs across her collar bone, as well as the one that extends down from her hip bone to her mid-thigh. They’re deep, too deep, and elsewhere you see patches of skin that are ragged and seem like they might bruise if she had the blood to spare for it.

“Shh, Jade. It’s gonna be okay,” you murmur, smoothing her hair to the side. She shakes her head no, her eyes drooping, but you grab her face between your bloodied grey hands and tilt it up until your eyes meet.

“You aren’t pulling that shit on me Harley. What do you think your fucknuts brother would say? I have enough on my mind without having to plan a funeral.” The corner of her mouth twitches up and you can almost hear the retort that’s definitely bouncing around in her head.

You know you have to stop the bleeding, but with what? You look down at her.

“Don’t get any funny ideas, dipshit.” You grimace, grabbing the bottom edge of her dress. “Sorry about this. I’ll make it up to you, promise.” You tear a few strips of blue fabric off of the bottom edge of the dress.

Jade reaches out and closes her small hand around your forearm. It’s a weak gesture, but there’s a lot of meaning behind it. Plenty of unsaid words. You sigh deeply, and tie the fabric around your upper arm to stop your bleeding so it’s actually useful. You don’t think you’re skilled enough to fix her major wounds, let alone her minor ones. The best you can do is tie spare fabric around her to put pressure on the wounds and slow the blood loss. 

“Jade, I’ll be right back,” you say. You run inside, finding her rifle on her kitchen table. If only she’d had it with her. The drone would have stood absolutely no chance against Harley and her Legendary Piece of Shit. You captchalogue it along with your sickles, and then you’re back by her side.

You know where you have to go.

You scoop Jade into your arms, and gently spin her around so that she is resting on your back. Her head finds your shoulder and her arms loosely wrap around you. How does a girl this light shoot a rifle without falling over when it recoils? 

“Time to go, fuckstick,” she whispers into your ear. Her voice is too quiet.

You nod, and begin walking in the direction of Feferi’s.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for taking so long to update. The only thing that puts me off writing more things is typing. But good news is, i'm working on the next chapter!! so just know that it doesn't end here. 
> 
> i really hope i got the voices of the characters right, with karkat it's hard for me to not just say fuck 6554324132 times. hehe. :p let me know what you think!! when i get notifications that i have kudos and comments it motivates me to keep going. no pressure though! i love this pairing and i'm determined to finish!
> 
> thanks for reading!!! and if you have a request, let me know! <3


	3. Don't Move

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jade wakes up, Feferi and Karkat have a talk, and our favorite Vantas gets embarrassed.

==> Be Jade

You open your eyes and blink several times, trying to work at the dry feeling that seems to have settled over them. Your body _hurts_. You vaguely wonder why. 

Judging by your pink, cuttlefish-plush-littered surroundings, you’re at Feferi’s… but why? you tilt your head to see what’s at your right and are startled to see Karkat’s sleeping figure there. He’s draped on the edge of the bed like a worn out pillow, with his head buried in one arm while the other hangs uselessly at his side. The dangling one is wrapped in a loose bandage, and you can see a slight tinge of bright red soaking through the gauze. He’s clearly been there long enough to need to change the dressings on his arm, at least. His black hair is sticking up in impossible angles, as usual, and he isn’t wearing his usual black shirt. Instead he’s in a red-grey tshirt that hugs his form. It’s slightly wrinkled, contributing to the impression that he’s been up for too long with not enough to do.

It’s so… Karkat of him.

You take this all in and resist the urge to run a hand through his hair in gratitude to his loyalty. You fail to resist the urge.

You lift your arm and stretch it across your body, but you stop short because 

“ _Owwww!!_ ” you hiss, scrunching your eyes shut. You open them and are horrified to see purple, green, and various other shades of bruises wrapping around your arm like a tattoo. Does the rest of your body look like this? You sigh, and it hurts.

Setting your jaw, you stretch your hand out further until- oh?

His hair is so much softer than it looks it’s… smooth. And fluffy.

And then Karkat purrs in his sleep and lets out a low, whirring sound, like a content sigh, but more animalistic. Your face tilts into a smile and you giggle, ears standing up to better capture the sound.

Feferi walks in. you yank your hand back, but that was a horrible idea, because holy-fucking-shit that hurt.

Feferi pauses in surprise, her eyes flicking between you and Karkat and at the blood that has started leaking from your collarbone and onto your covers. Karkat lifts his head, now awake and alarmed, but groggy.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” you yelp.

You panic and try to prop yourself up on your forearms. Your body screams and shudders in pain and protest. Feferi’s voice rings out high and fast, “Don’t let )(er sit up!”

Karkat is suddenly there, looming over you, both arms holding your shoulders firmly against the cushion of the bed. His eyes burn into yours and jegus is he angry. Any thought of opposing him evaporates into the atmosphere.

“Don’t. Fucking. Move,” he orders in a low, angry whisper.

Without breaking eye contact, you nod, slowly. Pain creeps from the opened cut and air slips through your teeth in a low moan. But the pain isn’t enough to keep your from seeing Karkat’s arm spasm. His eyes leave yours and he grimaces at his cut before sinking back into his chair by your bed. 

Your eyes water as Feferi busies herself in cleaning up the blood. Then she lifts her hand and the air around you grows warm and glows a faint fuchsia. The throbbing aches slowly lessen.

“He never left the room,” she says happily. Karkat growls. 

You fall asleep with vague happiness bouncing around inside your head.

***

==> Be Karkat one hour later.

You are now Karkat Vantas, and you are tired as hell. You woke up to a dull burning sensation in your arm after you fell asleep leaning on Jade’s bed. Again. Now you’re shuffling out of the room to take the opportunity to ask Feferi how her coffeemaker works.

You enter the kitchen, where she sits, reading a troll glamor magazine. You idly wonder why anyone would ever _pay_ to read that garbage, and you’re about to spit out your own brand of slander against it when she speaks up.

“Karkat, can we glub for a minute?” She gestures to a chair, which you plop into like a tired sack of skin. That’s not actually too far from the truth.

“Sounds to me like we already are. What’s on your mind?”

“Is s)(e really wort)( all of t)(is to you?” Feferi asks. You grimace.

“Feferi, tell me. Why the fuck would I be here if she wasn’t? She’s my best friend! She’s…” Fuck, how do you explain just how much you care?

Feferi breaks your concentration by giggling. “It’s okay!! I get it. S)(e's my frond too! You don’t )(ave to explain anyfin else, Karcrab. If s)(e’s im-port-ant to you, I’ll be )(appy to kelp.”

You flush. “Thanks. Like. Really, this is more than I could… than I _should_ ask for.”

She just smiles at you and her earfins flap in a sickeningly adorabubble way.

“)(e)(e)(e! Don’t carp on aboat it. You are very s)(ellcome!” She slides her chair a little closer to yours and sets your injured arm on the table. Her hand hovers over your cut and she slides the worn out gauze off. Your arm glows a faint pink and begins to sting. It feels like the edges of the cut are buzzing. Then she stops and wraps your arm back up in clean, white linen.

“It’s not muc)(, but it’ll )(ave to do.”

“You should have used your energy on Jade, she’s hurt worse than I am,” you grumble, trying to be grateful and failing due to your impatience. Feferi bites her lip.

“Karcrab, aboat t)(at… T)(ere’s… w)(elp, a problem.” You look into her eyes, concerned. “T)(e Drones visit me every few days, trying to kelp an eye on me. I’m expecting t)(em in tube days, but…if t)(ey followed your blood trail, it could be sooner t)(an t)(at.” Her expression is concerned, and she’s not using as many of her terrible fishpuns, so you know she’s being serious. Two days? 

“You should still worry about Jade, not me,” you insist.

“S)(e’s already doing a lot beta!! Plus, if you )(ave to leave fast, s)(e needs someone who is going to be abubble to carry )(er if s)( still can’t walk w)(en you )(ave to leave.”

You look away in reluctant defeat. 

“Got any coffee?” you mumble. She’s already buried herself back in her magazine, so she wordlessly points at a small section of her counter that’s dedicated to the caffeinated savior of your life. You walk over and start fumbling with the volume-measuring devices and the bag of pre-ground coffee. Pre-ground? What an amateur coffee-drinker. You roll your eyes.

“S)(e was petting your )(air.”

“WHAT?” you yell, dropping everything and spinning around. 

“Shh!!” Feferi whispers, eyes widening and dancing to the open door of Jade’s room.

“Sorry.”

“She was running )(er )(and t)(roug)( your )(air. You were purring, )(e)(e!” Peixes giggles, positively _beaming_ at you.

You twist back around and violently finish starting your coffee. Purring, why the fuck would you purr. No one is supposed to know that you do that, _especially_ not Jade Harley. You were asleep, and JEGUS FUCK why did she have to find out like that?! You can think of at least 480257 different ways you’d have preferred for her to find out, if paradox space decided that just fucking _had_ to be part of the alpha timeline. But fuck paradox space and its ability to vomit bullshit all over your life. You are soaking in unfortunate realities. You don’t think you’ll ever be able to pry yourself from this self-perpetuating clusterfuck ever again. _Purring_. Shit.

The coffee machine beeps and you jump and abscond the hell out of there before Feferi can get another word in. You resist the urge to slam the door shut behind you, and flop onto your chair, huffing with embarrassed indignation.

Then, hesitantly, you extend your arm. Your fingers reach her white ears. They’re silky smooth and twice as soft as they look. Your jaw drops into a pleased ‘o’-shape, and Jade lets out a tiny “ _woof_ ” and sighs happily in her sleep. Deciding to press your luck, you stroke her hair with nervous fingers, feather-light touch until you realize, wow. It may look poofy and cumbersome, but it’s softer than her ears and your fingers don’t tangle in the strands the way you anticipated. It’s a feeling you could get used to.

You draw your hand back, shocked at your thoughts, then spend the rest of the afternoon eyeing your blushing reflection in the black liquid you hold in the mug in your hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not particularly good at writing Feferi. I love puns, but they can be hard to come up with on the spot. kjfdslak
> 
> sorry about the lapse of time in between chapters! i've been really really busy lately ; n ; also i'm really terrible about typing things.
> 
> let me know what you think!!

**Author's Note:**

> Here's my first official fanfic! I hope I can get you guys to like JadeKat as much as I do vuv;  
> I'll have the second part up asap! I'm sorry it's so short. Please tell me what you think so far, and thanks for reading!


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